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Nancy Leson Couldn't Stand Meatloaf Until She Tried This Unusual Recipe

Nancy Leson
Warning: This meatloaf contains raisins and apples.

I'm an open-minded, non-judgmental kind of guy (disregard that snickering from my wife), but I draw the line at fruit in meatloaf. Nancy Leson doesn't, as she made brazenly clear in her Seattle Times story last weekend.

Amazingly, Nancy sees nothing shameful about including raisins, apples and curry powder in meatloaf mix, and then topping the whole mess with chutney. 

“Don’t knock if you haven't tried it, buddy,” she said. “The raisins and the apple are what make this meatloaf so delicious to me.”

Nancy says she couldn’t stand meatloaf until she came across this fruit-peppered version at a friend’s dinner table (see recipe).

“I made the mistake of saying I would stay for dinner before asking, ‘And what are we having?’ And it turned out to be my favorite meatloaf ever,” she said.

Tut-tut, Ms. Leson, tut-tut. At long last, have you no decency?  But who knows? Maybe you'd like a combination meatloaf and fruitcake. Nancy’s been making it for 25, 30 years now.

I’ve got my own meatloaf tip to share, courtesy of “Cook’s Illustrated.” Ditch the loaf pan altogether and grab a raised wire rack and a rimmed baking sheet instead. Line both things with foil, punch a few holes in the rack and place the meatloaf right on the rack. That way, all the grease drips down, and your meatloaf doesn’t sit in a pool of grease as it cooks.

This week, I leave you with a special treat. Click on the listen button above to hear me perform “Song to a Meatloafin' Gal.

“My love is meatloaf flavored. I just wish my meatloaf was also meatloaf flavored.”

-- Dora J. Arod
 

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.